


Smalltown Boy

by originofabsolution



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Author is trans, Cap is obvs an army captain, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, Havers gets a job as a librarian and for some reason moves across the country for it, Havers is trans in this cuz im projecting again, I relocated button house sue me, M/M, Probably not in character, Thomas broods forever, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/originofabsolution/pseuds/originofabsolution
Summary: Havers moves across the country to a place called Button Hill, where he is accepted into the friendly local community and meets a certain army Captain who makes life a whole lot more confusing.
Relationships: Alison/Mike (Ghosts TV 2019), The Captain/Lieutenant Havers (Ghosts TV 2019)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. New Town

Much like the last few years of his life, William Havers travels alone. He drives around the bends of country lanes, taking in the glorious scenery that surrounds him. From living in bustling cities in his youth, William savoured every moment in the countryside, the fresh air, the open spaces, the opportunity for adventure and new experiences.  


Moving house is one adventure in itself, finding the most suitable small town to live in for the foreseeable future, lugging all his belongings across the country and finally setting up his own home. Sure he'd lived in places before, but those were studio flats, university dorms and shared accomodation. This little bungalow would be a home.  


As Havers follows his sat-nav, excitement brews in his stomach as the miles decrease between him and the town of Button Hill. Though he has helped with the transportation of his other luggage and furniture, this trip would be his final one before unpacking.  


Button Hill is a small town in Shropshire, centred around a large hill on which Button House stands, an old building inhabited by the wealthy and powerful family… Well powerful in the town anyway as the Button family own the majority of it.  


Aside from the Manor House, Button Hill is home to many independent businesses trading in everything from bread, books and religious artifacts. It also has an old library which Havers applied for his first job in the town. After seeing pictures of the tall wooden beams, comfortable chairs and collection of old books, Havers fell in love immediately.  


As he finally arrives in the town itself, the small winding streets and old buildings feel overly homey already. The only insecurity he has is that the presumably tight knit community won't accept him, either because he's new or something more painful to do with his sexuality or gender identity. He hasn't thought it through until now that a quaint beautiful town like this could be full of conservative old people set in their ways and beliefs. But there's no going back now.  


He stops his car outside of the bungalow he's spent the last few weeks bringing his belongings to. But this time he'd actually be able to stay. The front of the house is slanted with a large window to the kitchen looking out to the road, then on the other side is a much smaller window with patterns to block out the public looking into his bathroom. On the other side of his house is a little garden, with space for a shed and flower garden if he wanted. Looking out onto the garden is his living room and bedroom, though the living room is considerably larger than the bedroom as it also doubles as a study, with his large bookshelves which would soon be filled with the boxes of books from his car. He set about doing this for the rest of the day, hoping to get his house livable for his first day at work tomorrow. 


	2. Neighbours?

William is awake early the next morning, eager to be on time for his first day at the library. He puts on a casual but smart outfit, has a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee before leaving.   


As he locks the door on his way out, he notices a couple arrive next door. They are a young couple and appear to be struggling with such an early start to the day.   


"Good Morning!" William greets them over the fence before they can disappear into their house.   


They spin around to locate the source of the voice and approach the fence as they spot him.   


"Morning! Wow when I heard they'd sold the house I didn't expect someone to move in so soon." the man greets him then converses with the woman.   


"Absolutely, but yeah welcome to Button Hill! I'm Alison and this is Mike. I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of us around town, we're quite a close knit community."

"It's lovely to meet you both, my names William. Well I guarantee we'll meet a few more times like this ey?" he chuckles to himself.   


"Oh! We're not your neighbours, we don't live here." Mike shakes his head and points to the house.   


"Should I be concerned by that? Perhaps this is a friendly break in and I should call the police." Havers looks between them with a playful smile.   


"No no no. We just clean my friend's home when he's away. He's in the army and sometimes he's gone so long the place needs a bit of tlc. Plus he never really cares much for it when he is here, so it's nice to decorate and make a change whenever he comes back." Alison explains with a fond smile, clearly wanting to take care of her friend.   


"Yeah, and it gives us a chance to practice renovating. We want to have our own project one day to do up a big house into a hotel and bring some more business and tourists to the town." Mike continues.   


"That is very kind of you to do that for you friend! And perhaps you could renovate Button House? The views from on the hill would surely bring in tourists." Havers suggests.   


"That would be the dream, but Fanny would never trust us with it." Mike shrugs and turns to Alison. "It's a shame you being related hasn't made a difference. If anyone should have a chance at the house it'd be us."

"You're Buttons?" William asks with slight shock. He'd heard the Button family were very wealthy and posh. But the couple he sees in front of him do not appear to be either.   


"We're the Coopers, but I'm a Button only distantly, Fanny's my aunt in some way. So we don't share her riches." Alison shrugs.   


"Not until she dies, bet we'd get some inheritance right?"   


"Mike!" Alison jabs him in the side to which he raises an eyebrow in a knowing way. "Okay maybe… But it's not nice to think about that. Anyway, sorry if we're holding you up William, are you off to anywhere nice?"   


William can't help chuckling at the domesticity of the pair. He decides he quite likes Alison and Mike.   


"Just the library, I start my new job there today."   


Mike's face falls and his eyes dart to Alison's, as if he's nervous as to what she'll say.   


"Ah, we know the guy who works there. He's a little full on but I don't think you should have a problem with him." she informs him and places her hand around Mike's as if to calm him, which William finds quite concerning as he's never met his colleague before.   


"Thanks for the heads up, I'll be off now, don't want to be late. It was lovely meeting you both!" he smiles and gives them a quick wave.   


"Nice to meet you too, William, we'll see you soon!" Alison calls after him before they disappear into the house.   


_ What a lovely couple, _ Havers thinks,  _ though I wonder what happened with the other librarian, Mike's reaction wasn't good at all. Guess we'll just have to see.  _ He starts up his car, puts on his playlist and drives off to the town centre. 


	3. The Library

The library is a two story building, one of the tallest in the town centre, it seems to have a dark wooden effect with large open windows. Havers considers that they would be good places to sit and read, with so much natural light shining also adding to the cozy aspect of the comfortable looking lounge chairs by the windows.   


Within the long open plan room there are rows upon rows of tall, sturdy looking bookshelves absolutely filled to the brim. As he passes each row he sees a variety of old clearly worn spines and brand new untouched ones. Though overall he decides that the place could do with a good dusting, as he could visibly see dust gathering on every panel.   


As he wanders around the place he finds no sign of anyone, even at the desk where he supposed the other librarian would be sat.   


"Hello?" he calls out again, searching further up and down the aisles of books. Some sections catch his eye and he makes a mental note to come back to them later.   


Could this guy really be so bad that he drives away customers and hides away?   


With a sigh Havers decides he'll have to find the staff area as his search is hopeless. He'll be late if he doesn't meet his colleague soon!

Behind the large desk with the computer and a stack of books, he finds the door with  _ Staff _ written on it. The door squeaks as it opens.   


It enters into a corridor with a kitchen to the left, bathroom to the right and a break area straight ahead. The break room has several comfortable sofas and another large window, in which William finds his colleague.   


"Why will she not return my texts? Was the poem about her hair too much?" the man questions and sighs, looking out of the window down onto the other shops and in the distance the green rolling hills.   


"Excuse me." William knocks on the wall to alert the man of his presence, yet he still jumps, his face warping into an exaggerated expression of shock that Havers is both surprised and impressed at.   


"This is a restricted area, I suggest you leave my sighing spot at once." he stands waving his hands, attempting to shoo him away from the other side of the room.

"I'm uh, your new colleague, William Havers." he steps forward, extending his hand to shake.   


"Oh! A thousand apologies, I seem to have lost track of the day. Thomas Thorne." the brunette shakes his hand with vigour and smiles widely. "Drop your stuff wherever you want, it's only the two of us so there's no threat of stealing."

"Unless someone waltzes into the staff room as I did." William teases.   


A little flustered Thomas replies, "Well yes, but I usually lock the door whilst I'm on the shop floor, so it should be fine."

Though he's not quite convinced, Havers follows Thomas back into the library for the tour. 

*

"So does it get busy in here?" Havers asks, making space on the shelves for the books on his trolley. He hasn't seen a single customer in the 2 hours he's been here.   


"Uh not really. Alison brings the primary school kids in twice a week, there's a few students and OAPs that turn up too." Thomas explains, writing at a nearby desk so that he could help William when needed and get to know him better.   


"Does that not bother you? That you spend most of your week here alone."

"It gives me time to write my poetry, so I can't say it does. Though I do wish fair Alison would visit more often." he sighs. "So why did you choose to work here?"   


"I've always loved writing, I studied literature and history and University which was very interesting. So I always knew books would be my calling. Though I do love to travel as well."

"Where have you been?"   


"Just around Europe really, I spent a few years after uni just backpacking around. Met some amazing people, had unique experiences. Italy was so beautiful, I spent most of it on my bike just cycling through the little villages and countryside." Havers smiles brightly, feeling almost as happy and content remembering his travels as he was actually experiencing them.   


"That sounds wonderful. I've only ever visited family in France. Though it would be a dream to honeymoon in such a peaceful place as you describe."   


"You're quite the romantic aren't you, Thomas?" William assumes, noticing his friend getting caught up in another longing stare at nothing in particular.   


"Indeed, I have written many books of poems inspired by my muses. Though I have yet to experience true love." Thomas rests his head on his hand and looks towards William. "What else would you assume about me?"   


Havers hums and leans against the bookshelf, idly turning the pages of a Tudor history novel in his hands.   


"I'd say that you've always been undeterred in what you believe in, you fall in love very easily but find it hard to hold back on expressing it. You feel very deeply with every emotion, it's uncontrollable but you still have hope that things will work out for you. The perk of being a writer, that you can imagine a thousand ways that things will go and it's just your choice to make it happen." he concludes, after studying the man for the past few hours he's sure of most of his points.   


Thomas' jaw drops and his eyes bore into William.   


"I mean no offence, I'm sorry if that was too much." Havers looks down and curses himself.  _ You've been here for 5 minutes and already pissed off your only work-mate, well done.   
_

"None taken, I… you … you were just spot on is all. It is no secret but I just didn't expect you to gather all that in so little time." Thomas shakes his head. "And thank you for that part at the end about choosing my path. Sometimes I get stuck feeling as though I have no control." he pauses "You could give Humphrey a run for their money with advice like that."

"It's alright, you looked like you could do with a pick-me-up after your moping earlier. I'll go and grab us some hot drinks too if you want?" he suggests, pointing towards the staff room.   


"That's very kind of you, though I've run out of coffee here. You could go to the coffee shop down the road if you'd like, I can handle the rest of those books."   


After taking Thomas' order, William grabs his coat and heads out of the building. 


	4. Coffee Trip

He soon finds the coffee shop, just a few streets away from the library. Much like the majority of the town, the shop is small and painted green. Unlike the library, more people seem interested in coffee as many seats are taken by socialising locals. The interior design seems oddly familiar, with a large sofa and several comfy chairs on the left, surrounded by little tables with 2 chairs at each. There are also stools at the counter, where a very bright and bubbly looking barista stands smiling at William as he enters.   


"Hello! Welcome to Button Beans, I'm Kitty. You must be new, or a tourist, oh how lovely!" the woman exclaims, her cheeks turning bright at the thought of her little business being a hub for more than 10 locals.   


"Your café is so homely, I'll definitely be visiting more. I swear I recognise it from somewhere." William ponders.   


"Oh you noticed, wonderful! I spent so long making it look like Central Perk from Friends, it's one of my favourite shows and I wanted a place for all my own friends to relax and have fun." Kitty explains, overjoyed with the support of this customer.   


"It's marvellous, you clearly care immensely for your friends and customers." he smiles back, Kitty's positivity becoming infectious.   


"Of course! Now what can I get you? Here's our choices and the drink of the day." she slides a menu over to him. He stifles a laugh at the clear resemblance to the Central Perk logo, but finds her names and brews very original and impressive, though slightly unusual.   


"I'll have the Headless Humphrey and a Tunisian Tea-Party please."

Kitty turns to her coffee machines and begins to make his order, meanwhile keeping interested in her newest customer.   


"So are you staying in town for long?"   


"Yes, I've just moved in on Francis Lane. Just popped in from the library to grab some drinks for Thomas."

"I was hoping you'd stay, I'm sure everyone will love you here. Pat will be sure to invite you to his bi-monthly BBQ, it would be great for you to meet them all."   


Slight anxiety seeps into William at the thought of meeting so many people at once, all who he will have to make a great impression. Sure it was different during his travel as any misunderstandings would be forgotten as he'd leave for the next place soon after. Any problems here he would have to live with.   


So he merely offers Kitty a smile and nods at her prediction.   


"If you wanted to meet some of us before then, my friend Robin hosts his chess club here on Wednesday evenings. There's only a few people who turn up but it's good fun."

_ That seems more preferable than meeting the whole community at once. At least then I could hang around Kitty at the bar.  _ William thinks, looking around the comfortable surroundings that would be sure to make a positive gathering.   


"I'll turn up and give it a go, though I can't guarantee I'm any good at chess."

"I'm no good either, so we can play together!" she smiles and hands William the coffee cups. "Don't worry about paying, it's on the house."

"Oh no, I insist."   


Then after several heated minutes of chivalry and politeness, they come to an agreement of William paying for his own drink and Kitty paying for Thomas', as he in Kitty's opinion was very rude for making William pay. He leaves the coffee shop with 2 cups of coffee and another friend. 


	5. Back to Work

William gets back to the library and nothing has changed since he left, other than an extra few books filling the shelf he was working on earlier.   


He can already tell that the emptiness of the place will disappoint him. When he'd applied for the job he thought it'd be an interesting little place with frequent visitors to such an old and beautiful establishment. But in reality it was indeed old and beautiful but no one other than Thomas cared about the place.   


After seeing the potential of the town in Button Beans, hosting clubs and groups of people, William's brain began to explode with ways to improve the place and create a similar atmosphere. But first he needed to work to gain the trust of Thomas and create friendships that would help his dreams of the library.   


Much like the beginning of the day, Thomas is nowhere to be found on the shop floor, instead choosing to lounge by the window in the back.   


"Are you alright there?" William asks as he approaches the younger man.   


Thomas looks up at him with a neutral expression. "Yeah, just a bit tired."

"Alright, if you wanna have a nap or something I can sort stuff out. Oh and here you go, a Humphrey's Head as requested."   


"Thanks, if you could do that it'd be great. I'll write you a list." Thomas replies, grabbing a notepad and pen from the desk then scribbling down the itinerary for the day. "Sorry for making your first day difficult."   


"It's no bother, we all have down days. At least we've got coffee now hey?" William tells him, coaxing a small smile from the other man. "What's with the names at that cafe anyway, a Headless Humphrey and Tunisian Tea-Party hardly seem normal."

"Kitty takes name requests from our friends, usually after funny stories or jokes. We found a book on Charles I and an illustration inside of a decapitated man looked like our friend Humphrey, hence Headless Humphrey. And Tunisian Tea-Party was some weird sex position that Julian claimed to have experienced." Thomas explains, laughing fondly at William's expression.   


"I wasn't expecting that." he laughs, taking Thomas' list.   


So he leaves Thomas to nap and spends the rest of the day cleaning, dusting, restocking shelves and rearranging the children's section after an apparently brutal attack yesterday afternoon from Allison's class.   


As he finishes the children's books, he starts tidying up the toys and games which had been left by the younger kids.   


"Having fun there?" a new voice says unexpectedly, making William jump slightly as he notices a person browsing the aisle behind him.   


"I've got to admit if they weren't so sticky with sweets I'd probably enjoy myself." he jokes, cleaning a particularly gross duck.   


"Oh god, I'm surprised they aren't broken if they're the victims of Alison's class. I'm Humphrey by the way, and I use they/them pronouns."   


William turns around fully to see a tall person with the most impressive moustache he's ever seen, and he fully intends to tell them so.   


"I'm William and I use he/him." he stands up to greet Humphrey properly. "I'm a trans man myself so it's nice to know I'm not the only LGBT+ guy around here."

Humphrey pats William on the shoulder and says "Far from it, honestly the majority of the people I know are LGBT+ and those who aren't are allys! Oh and I'm non-binary myself so you're not the only trans one either." they smile widely underneath their moustache.   


Humphrey hangs around the library for the next hour as William potters around finishing up the tasks on his list. From hearing Humphrey's name from both Thomas and Kitty, he assumes he'd meet the person eventually but he finds he's quite glad to meet them on his first day.   


He finds that Humphrey is a motivational speaker and social media personality, making videos on LGBT+ awareness, storytelling and the history of Button Hill. He also finds that they are very easy to talk to, listening to every word. This is why William decides to open up a little about his transition, as he trusted Humphrey would provide him with support.   


"I've been out since I was… gosh around 15. Managed to get on t at 20 and got top surgery at 24, it's been a slow journey but now I'm who I am and in a new place to truly experience that." William explains and can't help his happiness at his story, remembering how far he's come and his purpose for being here.   


"That's great man! You look really confident and comfortable in yourself if you don't mind me saying."

"Thank you, Humphrey, that really means a lot. And I've got to say, I am in awe of your moustache, when mine grows back I'll be pestering you for tips on styling."

"A magician does not reveal their secrets." Humphrey laughs wholeheartedly, twirling the ends of their moustache.   


William laughs along but notices the time on his watch and sees its the end of his shift at the library. "This has been really fun but I've got to head off now, still got lots of unpacking left to do. Would you mind if I gave you my number?"   


As he says goodbye to Humphrey, he folds the piece of paper with their number into his trouser pocket with a smile. Sure it may have been a little eager to exchange numbers that soon, but William is sure that they would have met again either way. Also after opening up about his transition it would be weird to cut off contact with them.   


He enters the staff room for the last time for the day and collects his bag and jacket from one of the sofas. Thomas is napping peacefully on the other sofa. Despite this, William wakes the man up as he needs to know that he will now be alone and can't snooze with the library open.   


Thomas thanks him for his hard work and understanding before letting him go home. Overall it was a pretty good first day.


End file.
